A man who lost his job for saying “top of the morning to ya” while mimicking an Irish accent has won a bumper payout from his former employer.
Karl Davies, 58, was unfairly dismissed from his role at the Oscar Mayer ready meal manufacturing site in Wrexham.
An employment tribunal heard that the then 57-year-old greeted his manager Scott Millward in the mocking accent as he was listening to Irish music on August 13 last year.
At the time, Mr Millward had been escorting a red-haired external auditor through the site when Mr Davies used the exaggerated accent.
Karl Davies, 58, was unfairly dismissed from his role at the Oscar Mayer ready meal manufacturing site in Wrexham
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Mr Davies was subsequently subject to an internal probe after his manager reported the comments.
The investigation examined whether the comments and feigned voice constituted racial harassment.
An employment judge ruled that the engineering storeman was “effectively channelling the musical vibe” as he repeated the comments numerous times.
Judge Vincent Ryan said that he believed Mr Davies was attempting to embarrass and get a rise out of his manager after speaking “in a manner that Mr Millward was bound to find irritating and embarrassing”.
An employment judge ruled that the engineering storeman was ‘effectively channelling the musical vibe’ (file photo)
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GETTY
The employment judge added: “I find that the purpose was not to racially harass Mr Millward, and there is no evidence before me that it had the effect, either, on anyone.
“It was nevertheless blameworthy as (Mr Davies) was subordinate to Mr Millward.
“It gave rise to the disciplinary proceedings and therefore contributed to the eventual sanction.”
The tribunal was told the auditor has no known Irish background.
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The probe into Mr Davies’ behaviour was led by a manager the claimant had an unresolved grievance against, the tribunal heard. .
According to the judge, Oscar Mayer’s disciplinary case centred on the company’s view that the claimant thought the auditor appeared “typically Irish”.
The tribunal was told that the factory worker’s 27 years of faultless service was not considered in the Oscar Mayer’s internal investigation, as the company found his repeated comments to amounted to harassment.
The employment judge ruled that the investigation had been “largely based on assumptions”.
The employment judge ruled that the investigation had been ‘largely based on assumptions’ (file photo)
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GETTYThe witness statements in the case were found to be inconsistent and the investigator selected to oversee the case was deemed to be “inappropriate”.
The judge said: “The claimant was accused of using an employment ending, reputation damaging, loss-inducing, racially motivated slur, a slur which could have created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive working environment; these are serious matters.
“On the facts peculiar to this case, I found that the dismissal was unfair, which does not mean that I approve the use of the greeting in question or the use of mock accents.”
Mr Davies was awarded more than £16,000 for unfair dismissal.